5 - Sleepover

The girl stood at the bottom of the stairs to the second floor, closed her eyes, and counted to 10, while the boy scurried away at top speed. "Ready or not, here I come!"

The two-story house was relatively big, with multiple bathrooms and plenty of space. The girl wasn't familiar with this stranger's home, so she decided to start from the bottom to the top. To start off, she checked the living room, which was right of the stairs.

She walked around the living room, peeking behind the couches and under the table. Then she pulled open the curtains, which revealed… basically nothing. Outside was the same view of nothing but forest, which is basically what she'd seen on the way there.

Next, she checked the dining room. First, she checked around the table. She wondered if the boy would maneuver around the table while she walked around, but set that thought aside. Next, she decided to check… nothing. In that kitchen area, the only thing there was the table. There were no plates, cabinets, food, or even chairs. Then she remembered that she'd seen the boy pull the chairs out from under the table.

"Huh… so if I put my hand in here, I can pull out the chairs? Would he be hiding here?" Tentatively, the girl reached out to the seemingly solid table edge…

"I wouldn't touch that if I were you." A voice came from right next to her. Mother had somehow snuck up on her while she was thinking. "Chairs aren't the only thing the storage area holds."

"P- pardon?" The girl startled, and the woman placed a hand on her shoulder.

"No worries, but you should refrain from investigating these things in the future. You could have lost a hand today, you know." The girl startled again, because the woman spoke these words with a cold smile, like when one is forced to do something they don't want to do. "You should call for my son, he can keep you out of these… situations."

"What's the matter? Is anyone hurt?" The boy called out from the staircase, as he hurried down to the kitchen.

"Ah, perfect timing. Your guest was in danger, you know," his mother replied. "I may be supervising you, but you ought to warn your guest of fatal, unusual dangers."

"Oh! I'm so sorry!" The boy apologized frantically, bowing.

Thus, playtime was over.

"So are you really telling me… I could've died because of a chair storage place?" The girl was sitting on the bed in a borrowed pair of pajamas, getting ready to sleep.

"I mean…" the boy averted his eyes with an awkward smile, and he picked up his toothbrush and started brushing his teeth very slowly.

"Hey, I think I deserve an explanation, you know," the girl complained, "your mother was talking about innovation, but who learns other languages and programs technology for it and then also creates a deadly space that holds some chairs?"

"Gurgle…" The boy spat out the toothpaste, startled, as the girl clenched his shoulder.

"I may be a little girl, but this is stranger danger, and I know self defense. I have a knife in my pocket. Tell me what's going on, or you'll lose more than just a finger." The little girl held a knife to the boy's throat with hostility.

"Mm… Fine, I'll tell you! But stop playing around with your plastic knife, it's not funny, ugh!"

The girl sighed with relief, and the boy did too. He finished brushing his teeth and sat down next to her.

"So, what do you want to know?"

"Everything, from the start, including where this is and what you're doing here."

"Alright. I won't guilt trip you, saying that you're taking my help for granted or whatever. You're a stranger, a kid, and you're stuck in a weird place, where you can't trust anyone. I'm not going to say I trust you, especially after you put a knife to my throat, but I believe that another kid couldn't do that while knowing." He breathed in really loudly, before breathing out again. "Me and my mom moved here a while ago, for her work. She's really smart, and she was a scientist for the government, but she and her coworkers had a disagreement, so she left."

"So, your mother is really smart but she didn't like her co-workers. Because of that, she quit her job and moved to this tiny countryside village?" The little girl confirmed slightly skeptically.

"Well, this is actually the capital of a neighboring country, but pretty much."

"Okay, I can accept that your mother's science is advanced beyond a small country's, but I still want to know why that table is dangerous. Because if it is, why is it okay for you to touch it but not me?"

"Ah... it's a security feature. It's pretty stupid, since it's not necessary with all the defense we have on the outside of the house, but..." the boy scratched his head, contemplating. "I guess there's something in there that my mom doesn't want anyone to, see? I'm pretty fast, but it's still dangerous for me. My mom showed me with some paper, and when she left it half in for a couple seconds, it cut clean in half on the border."

"Geez... ex-government workers are something else, huh?" The girl shivered, but seemed satisfied. "Well, at this point, I don't think there's anything else I need to know without it becoming burdensome."

"You're absolutely right," cut in mother, standing at the doorway. "I'm sure you know the saying, 'Curiosity killed the cat.' That's enough for today, so you children should sleep. I'll in the hallway if you need me." She turned and closed the door, leaving.

"...Your mother is scary," the girl said quietly.

"I don't know about that. Mother's always been mother, so wouldn't know. Although, I guess other people's moms are different? In any case, we should sleep so you can have energy for your return home." The boy walked over and flicked the light switch, before going to his respective bed.

"Good night. And, by the way, I don't think I got your name?" The girl asked, turned away from the boy, her voice a bit muffled.

"Oh, really? Haha! It's been a full day since we met, but... Hehe. My name is Boy," he said, turning to face her. "It's literal, but it makes sense, right?"

"That's a peculiar name, but I guess it makes sense? Although names are meant to give you individuality, you are a boy... *sigh*" She turned to look at him, and finally her name was given: "I'm @#%$%, and it's been nice to meet you, Boy."

"Likewise!" He replied instantly, with a wide grin.

"Although it's not much, I think I can trust you a bit more," the girl smiled childishly, for the first time that day. With a faint glow from the hallway door, they both fell asleep.